Are our fathers and grandfathers who did not reach tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and did not know it among the people of the period of ignorance?

The questioner : This brother says: Our fathers and grandfathers, those who did not study tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and did not know it, are they among the people of the period of ignorance?

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : He says: Our fathers and grandfathers, those who did not study tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and did not know it, are they among the people of the period of ignorance?

The Shaykh : The question involves detail and clarification. He means those before them... because many people know tawhid (the oneness of Allah) but have not studied it, and they are not mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah). For the Arabs are an unlettered nation by the explicit text of the Noble Qur'an. So they did not study tawhid (the oneness of Allah), but it was conveyed to them by the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and by the prophets before him, such as Ibrahim and Isma'il (peace be upon them). What matters to us regarding the fathers and grandfathers is the rule: everyone to whom the call did not reach is among the people of the period of ignorance, whether before the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) or after his sending, provided that the proof is established against him.
The Shaykh : And I believe that many people today are people of the period of ignorance, even in the heart of Islamic lands, because those who are supposed to convey the call to them are themselves in need of having the call conveyed to them.